Can I bring my de facto partner to New Zealand?
Yes. You do not have to be married. If you are a New Zealand citizen or resident, your de facto partner can apply on the same partnership-based visas as a married partner. The key difference is evidence: an unmarried couple usually has to work harder to prove they live together in a genuine and stable relationship.
An open work visa for the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident — work for any employer while you live together in New Zealand.
Not sure? Use the visa finder to check which partnership visa fits your situation.
What you need to know
- De facto relationships are recognised equally with marriage and civil unions — there is no need to marry.
- Living together is central: you generally need to show you share a home, not just a relationship.
- For residence you usually need to have lived together for around 12 months in a genuine and stable relationship.
- If you have not reached that living-together history yet, a partner work or visitor visa is usually the right first step.
About the evidence
Without a marriage certificate, your living-together evidence does the heavy lifting — a shared tenancy or mortgage, joint bills and accounts, and a clear timeline of your relationship.
See what a genuine and stable relationship means and the evidence of living together.
Other visas that might apply
Get it right the first time
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Common questions
- Do we have to be married for a partnership visa?
- No. New Zealand recognises de facto and civil union partners equally with married couples. What matters is that the relationship is genuine and stable and that you live together.
- How long do we need to have lived together?
- For residence you generally need around 12 months of living together. A partner work or visitor visa can often be granted earlier, on the strength of a genuine and stable relationship.
- What counts as living together?
- Sharing a home as a couple — usually shown with a joint tenancy or mortgage, shared bills and finances, mail to the same address, and other evidence of a shared daily life.